HARDWICK - A week after a suspicious fire destroyed his home in the Wheelwright section, authorities are still looking for the elderly property owner, Joseph Cernauskas.

A spokesman for the Worcester County District Attorney’s office, Paul R. Jarvey, said the investigation is continuing, and that no new information is being released. Cernauskas’ 1999 Town & Country van was found on Friday in Ware at an elderly housing complex on Church Street.

It also had been missing since the fire. The complex is the former Church Street School, and is about nine miles from Cernauskas’ home.

At approximately 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 6, the same day as the fire that destroyed Cernauskas’ home at 151 Off Maple St., the van had been seen operating in Ware, on West Main Street, near the library, according to Ware police. Cernauskas, a former selectman, turned 85 on Sept. 9.

This map shows the location of Joseph Cernauskas' home and where his van was found: